Hidayat sets up final showdown with Lee

Top-seeded Zhou Mi made short work of world champion Gong Ruina 11-1, 11-1 to claim the women’s singes gold medal, while the South Korean pair of Kim Dong-Moon and Ra Kyung-Min won the mixed doubles title.

The top-seeded pair of Kim and Ra beat Thailand’s Khunakorn Sudhisodhi and Saralee Thoungthongkam 11-4, 11-0 in the final.

Hidayat, the former world No. 1 who is now ranked 14th, outsmashed second-seeded Shon in straight games in the Asian Games’ second encounter between the two players.

Shon, who is world ranked seventh, had beaten Hidayat in the team event match which was marred by Hidayat storming off the court after being upset with line calls. Hidayat alleged the line calls were biased in favour of the host nation. Indonesia threatened to concede the final, but it was persuaded by the Asian Badminton Confederation officials to resume the team event’s gold-medal match after a two-hour interruption.

Keeping in mind the controversy, two international match referees stood at strategic positions in matches featuring Indonesian and South Korean players, behind the line judges, to observe any disputed calls.